Can Tho (VNA) - Vuong Quoc Nam, Vice Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, held a working session with a World Bank (WB) delegation on the technical assistance programme for local public financial management reform in the Mekong delta city on August 20.

The WB and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) have selected Can Tho as one of the localities to participate in the programme.

Nam said Can Tho is entering a new development phase, with expanded development space, rising infrastructure needs and an increasingly important role in the Mekong Delta, particularly in transport connectivity, logistics, urban development, trade, services, agriculture and climate change response.

The city is seeking WB technical support to improve medium-term fiscal planning, revenue and expenditure forecasting, fiscal sustainability assessment and public investment management.

For 2026-2030, Can Tho plans to streamline its public investment portfolio, focusing resources on key infrastructure, regional connectivity and climate-resilient projects with strong socio-economic impacts.

With limited local budget resources, the city plans to mobilise a combination of central and local funding, ODA, concessional loans, public-private partnerships and private investment, while ensuring borrowing remains within sustainable debt-servicing capacity.

Christopher Gilbert Sheldon, Acting World Bank Country Director for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the Asia-Pacific region, said the programme comes at an important time as Can Tho targets double-digit growth and faces rising demand for investment in infrastructure, logistics and climate resilience.

He stressed that the focus should be on spending more strategically rather than simply spending more, with careful selection of projects and management of their full lifecycle, including operation and maintenance costs.

Under the 2026-2030 programme, the WB will provide technical expertise, analytical tools and international experience to support Can Tho's institutional capacity, competitiveness and sustainable development.

The city targets 10% GRDP growth in 2026, compared with 6.7% in the first half of the year, and has pledged close coordination with the WB and SECO to ensure the programme is implemented effectively./.